Thawing Out
by Pseudo Nimus
Summary: When 12 year-old Percy met a strange woman in the park, he never expected that she was part of a world he would be thrust into barely half a year later. When Khione came to the park, she never expected to meet someone who would have her faith in the world – both mortal and godly – restored.
1. Chapter 1

Percy wasn't quite sure when he first noticed the girl sitting by the pond, but he knew that there was something… different about her. Her jet black hair was the polar opposite of the pure white snow that covered the ground, which seemed thicker near her than elsewhere. She was dressed nowhere near as much as the others around her, but didn't seem bothered by the cold.

Every morning for a week, she was there, looking at the frozen surface of the pond, unmoving apart from the odd sigh. One day, the first day that school was out, Percy decided he would go down and talk to her, see why she came every day, yet did nothing.

Giving his mother a quick "goodbye", he put on his coat and took to the stairs, bracing himself for the bitter cold that would surely come when he exited the door. The cold was worse than it was the before, but Percy was well prepared. Crossing the road, he looked around for the girl again, but didn't need to for long. There she was again, in the exact same spot, staring at the exact same pond. The snow, once again, seemed thicker around her. Looking closely, she seemed about 17, but the expression on her face made her seem far more experienced. He pondered for a moment whether to go up to her after all, but, having gone to all the effort of coming out anyway, thought it would be worth a try.

"Hi," he said, about 2 feet from the girl. She seemed surprised.

"Hi," she replied, somewhat shocked. She turned to face Percy.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" He looked away for a bit, then back.

"Well, you seem to be here every morning, but just look at the pond, not talking to anyone, or really doing anything else. Is something wrong?" She smiled a sad smile, and made eye contact. Percy was shocked by what he saw. She had icy blue eyes, with irises paler than any he had seen before.

"Quite a curious kid, aren't you?" Percy looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have –"

"– don't worry about it," she added, gesturing to the ground next to her, "come sit for a bit."

Percy did, though when he came closer, he felt that the air around her seemed colder, although not uncomfortably so.

"I was actually wondering when someone would notice me," she continued, "Nobody did except you. Quite telling, actually."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, curiously.

"Well, I know it's probably weird to open up to a complete stranger like this, but it's been so long since I've been able to just talk to anyone. Do you know what it's like to be alone?" Percy thought about it for a moment, considering everything that had happened to him so far.

"I guess not. I mean, when I'm not with my mom or at school with the bullies, I'm with _him._ "

"What do you mean?" She turned to face him, speaking somewhat quizzically/

"Well, my mom's one of the nicest people I know, but when she's not around, everyone around me seems to just hate my guts. I'm the weird kid who nobody likes, even though he did nothing wrong." The girl seemed to understand.

"I know what it feels like… what's your name?" Percy considered whether to tell this stranger her name, but something about her made her seem trustworthy.

"Percy." He said.

"I know what it feels like, Percy. My mom can't stand to look at me, my dad doesn't care about me, nobody even wants to talk to me, all because of what I am." She had turned away, and the air dropped another few degrees.

"It can't be that bad –"

"– it can, Percy," she interrupted, "but you coming here showed me something. It can change." He was a bit confused now.

"Huh?"

"The fact that you just came and talked to me is proof of that. You didn't know who I was, what I've done or what I might do, but thought I was lonely. Thanks, Percy." She smiled again, but seemed to do so genuinely out of happiness, this time.

"I… I guess, but are you sure you should be telling a 12 year old that he should trust complete strangers?" Percy asked, chuckling slightly.

"Maybe not, but at least you talked to me. Nobody's done that for a long time." Percy remembered that he never asked her name.

"Khione." Percy had never heard a name like that before.

"Nice name. Better than _Perseus_ , at least." Khione chuckled a bit.

"And why's that?"

"Nobody's laughed at you just for having a weird name. At least yours is… cool, in a way. Mine just sounds old." Khione laughed at that.

"If only you knew what's behind that name."

"The fact I know just makes it worse, 'cause it makes me feel that I'm not living up to those expectations." Khione felt somewhat awkward now, having had the roles reversed, but decided that she could at least try to help.

"Just because you haven't done anything now doesn't mean you won't do great things in future, Percy." He was now smiling too.

"Thanks, Khione. I think we both needed this little talk."

"I guess we did." She stood up, helping Percy to his feet. "If it's snowing out, I'll be right here. Don't forget about me."

"I won't", responded Percy, and when he looked at her eyes again, they had somehow turned from their icy colour to a brilliant cyan.


	2. Chapter 2

The last time he saw her that winter, she seemed younger, somehow – closer to 15 than the 17 she was previously.

Over the last few weeks, they had met up whenever there was reasonably mild snow, which happened surprisingly often this year.

That day, however the snow was wispy and turning to slush. Sensing the winter would soon be over, Percy admitted something to Khione.

"Whenever it was really bad, I always felt that the snow was my… escape. In a way."

"Escape from what?"

"Gabe. Evil incarnate, frankly." Khione looked at Percy with a sad smile.

"He can't be –"

"– He is. I can't think there's any way he could possibly be worse. I can't remember a single time that he said anything nice to me or my mom. I still have scars from all those times he beat me as a child." Khione could only look, stunned and unable to speak. How could anyone be so horrible to someone who had done nothing against them?

"I came outside even in the worst blizzards because the cold dulled the pain. When it wasn't so bad, though, the snow just felt… safe. Even when it was a thin layer, the snow made everything so… peaceful outside." Khione had never heard anyone say that to her before. To the other gods, her domain was a blight upon the earth, yet to this boy, it was a refuge, a place of comfort, even at its harshest.

"This'll be the last day of snow in New York this winter," she said, "so it'll be a while before I see you again."

"How are you so sure?" She chuckled a bit at that.

"Trust me." She produced a small silver trinket the size of a thumbnail. It was so well polished that every surface reflected part of the environment, and it was immaculately shaped like a six-pointed snowflake.

"Take this with you. If you're in really serious trouble, hold it close to your chest and call for me. I'll do whatever I can to help."

Percy was understandably confused – how could something like this do what Khione promised it would? Still, he decided not to doubt her too much. She had been trustworthy so far. He took it from her and smiled. Little did he know it would be the last genuine smile he would give in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'd like to start off with a somewhat lengthy author's note.**

 **I'll probably add a 600-1200 word chapter every one or two days, as I happen to have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment.**

 **In terms of content, expect, from here on, 1 chapter for summer and 1 chapter for winter, with the exception of TTC, which, taking place in winter, will have a bit more Khione action. I'm undecided on whether to include HOO (for obvious reasons) so we'll just have to wait and see for that.**

* * *

Spring went by as the autumn did. Nancy and her cronies tormented Percy and Grover as usual, he still had his dyslexia, and Gabe still kept being Gabe, but there seemed to be one slight change. From May onwards, Mr Brunner and Grover started being a little wary around him, but he never really knew why. All he knew was that it happened after he showed Grover his gift from Khione.

* * *

 _One day in late April…_

The day was hotter than it had any business being, and, considering it was lunchtime, it was particularly unbearable. Still, given the choice between the sweltering heat and being pelted with discarded pieces of sandwich, the heat didn't seem quite so unappealing.

It was while he was outside that Percy noticed that his left pocket felt oddly cold, like someone had stuffed an ice cube – his hand darted into his pocket, but there was no ice cube there, but rather the silver talisman Khione had left him at the end of winter. Pulling it out and inspecting it, it was just as clean as before, not worn or smudged in the slightest despite him taking it with him everywhere. The most noticeable thing, however, was that it was ice cold, water condensing on the surface as soon as it was exposed to the air outside.

"What's that?" asked Grover, who had perked up as soon as he noticed the glint.

"Something a friend gave me a while ago." He offered it to Grover, who, as soon as he touched it, recoiled from the cold and dropped it on the ground. Percy couldn't help but laugh.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Grover stared at Percy, wide-eyed.

" _Cool_? It's _freezing!_ "

Percy picked it up from the ground. Despite having slid across rough concrete, there wasn't a single scratch on it. He put it back in his pocket, and the heat seemed to have decided to avoid him that day.

That evening, however, Grover and Mr Brunner met in the latter's office, Grover recounting the events of the day.

"Describe to me again, Grover, the talisman Percy had."

"It was a silver snowflake about the size of a dime. It was perfectly reflective and completely intact. There wasn't a single scratch or smudge or anything on it. Plus, it was ice-cold even though it was almost 90 degrees outside! What could even do that?" Mr Brunner, now in his natural centaur form as Chiron, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"It doesn't seem to be a regular magic charm – it's clearly indestructible, but the lack of dirt or grime doesn't fit. It's not some serious symbol of power, either, considering its size. That leaves one possibility – it's a symbol of some god or goddess, meant to show favour or allegiance."

"What does that mean, exactly?"

"It's possible he's been playing dumb and is already claimed, or at least knows about the godly world, but he doesn't act like he's aware, and the token doesn't fit who we're sure he is." Grover was beginning to catch on.

"So you mean –"

"– yes. Percy has either gained the favour of a god, or is indebted to one, and I cannot imagine either being a good thing."


	4. Chapter 4

All in all, Percy's summer could have gone better. Cleaving his demon maths teacher in a museum was certainly jarring, but then getting attacked by a half-man, half-bull creature in the middle of a thunderstorm was far more frightening, especially considering he was unarmed.

By the great pine that stood vigil over the borders of camp, Percy could only watch as his mother dissipated into a shower of gold in the hands of the Minotaur. Filled with fear but fuelled with rage, he propped himself up against the tree, but within seconds of getting drenched by the rain, he launched himself at the Minotaur, clambering onto its fur-coated back and, in an act of strength he didn't even know he had, tore off its horn, impaling in it in the side of its neck. As soon as it lodged itself in the beast's windpipe, the Minotaur exploded into dust, Percy and the horn falling to the ground as though there was never a mythological monster there at all.

Having gone through an incident with a literal demon, a run-in with the Minotaur and the loss of his mother, Percy took the news that Greek mythology was true quite well. It took quite some time for him to adjust to camp life – sleeping on the floor in the Hermes cabin, daily training, chores and so on, but he settled into the routine within a week. He had not forgotten the loss of his mother, but, despite asking Mr Brunner – no, Chiron – for advice, was told nothing could be done.

Sometimes, he looked at the little talisman Khione had given him. It was still as cold as the time he took it out in the yard, and he never let it leave his side. With his mother gone and Grover and Chiron revealed to be mythological creatures, Khione's gift was all that was left of his old home. He wondered where she actually went after that day. Why couldn't she stay after the snow left? What did she mean when she said he could seek her help if he called for her with it?

He was soon broken from his thoughts by Luke. Luke was his mentor, and had been one of the few people, besides Chiron and Grover, to have expectations for him. Athena's daughter, Annabeth, was aloof and distant, Ares' daughter, Clarisse, was little more than a bully. The other children generally kept to their own siblings or the more experienced campers. Luke had claimed to have seen a talent for swordsmanship, and so much of Percy's time was spent with him, training in the arena. Percy was far from perfect – Luke said it was just a matter of practice, not to mention finding a better weapon, so he practised. Eventually, it became his niche. One time, he actually managed to beat Luke when the older boy's defence slipped.

However, that seemed to be his only talent besides canoeing, that most useful of skills for a demigod in constant danger from monster attacks on dry land.

* * *

Getting claimed was quite different. Having been battered and bruised during a particularly close game of Capture the Flag, he was jumped by a hellhound, and nearly mauled to death. Fortunately for him, Chiron shot the hound, but not before Percy collapsed in the stream. To everyone's amazement, his wounds healed as soon as the water touched them, and he was back to full health not long after. It was definitely jarring to see the rest of the camp bow down to him just because his father claimed him in front of them – before, he was just another unclaimed, and an untalented one at that. Now, he was apparently somewhere above the rest of them. Luke, he noticed, didn't seem to be bowing out of respect or reverence, but something indecipherable, almost like pride. He decided he would ask him later, although he would never get the chance.

The next day, he was assigned a quest – to retrieve Zeus' Master Bolt. According to Chiron, it had been stolen, and Percy now had two weeks to track it down and return it to Zeus.

Many times on the quest, Percy took out the snowflake again, wondering if there was something Khione hadn't told him. Was she a demigod, thinking he was a mortal and not wanting to reveal herself? Was she a nymph active only in winter, who knew about him and his future and wanted to help him in his upcoming quest? Maybe she was actually a minor goddess who was testing him. Whatever the case, there was more than one occasion on which he considered calling for her, but he knew that he could take it – Khione wouldn't have given him her gift if she thought he would waste it on some monster.

Maybe she was testing him – he found that he wasn't as afraid of the Underworld as he thought he would be. Even his duel with Ares, although difficult, was not actually frightening, only gruelling. Maybe he was given the snowflake because she wanted to see if he was strong enough. Perhaps she was just a pawn of the Gods, or maybe someone sent to protect him by his father. Maybe her friendship was never real in the first place.

After returning the Master Bolt to Olympus, Percy found himself asking more questions. Why did nobody mention Khione? If she was sent by the Zeus or his father, they would have mentioned her. Why did Luke seem so unfazed when the hellhound came? Setting foot back in camp, he discovered that his mother had been restored to the world above. He decided that it was time for some revenge against Gabe, and, discovering that he had been returned Medusa's head, decided he had the perfect plan.

Still, there was a matter to be settled. He headed to the arena again to find Luke.

* * *

Luke was in his usual spot, training another group of demigods. Percy stayed out of the way to avoid causing a disturbance, but when they had all gone, Luke came to him.

"I see you finished your quest. Good job you did back there. Beat Ares too – don't ask, word travels fast."

"Yeah! I just wanted to ask you something." As soon as he said that, Luke flinched quite noticeably.

"When I was in the Underworld, I found the Master Bolt in the backpack Ares gave me. Now, if gods can't steal other gods' symbols of power, how did he get his hands on it?" Luke had turned away initially, but turned back, but without making eye contact.

"When your father's the god of thieves, you naturally learn the tricks of the trade." Percy was simply stunned.

"Why would you do that? What have the Olympians ever done –"

"– _Nothing!_ Nothing at all! They never cared about us, Percy! We're pawns in their little game. This ends now, Percy. We're building an army to overthrow the Olympians and put a new order in place, one which doesn't use us demigods like slaves and that actually respects the minor gods, not just the twelve privileged enough to get thrones! Don't you see, Percy?"

"I'm sorry, Luke," Percy responded, sadly, "but I can't betray my family."

"Then I'm sorry, too, Percy," replied Luke, with a hint of sadness to his voice, too, "but if you're not with us, I can only assume you're against us." From seemingly nowhere, he produced a scorpion the size of his hand. It quickly grew to the size of a dog, but Percy couldn't react in time, and was stung in the wrist. Immediately after, it scurried away, leaving Percy to face a searing pain creep up his left wrist.

"That was a pit scorpion, summoned from Tartarus itself. You'll start to lose consciousness soon, and if you're lucky, you'll be paralysed before the pain overtakes your whole body." Luke walked away, but after about five steps, turned around one more time.

"I'm so sorry, Percy."

And with that, he ran away, vanishing in the underbrush of the camp forest.

Percy knew that his time was nearly up. The string that the Fates cut at the bus stop was his after all. He thought of his mother – at least she would no longer have to worry about Gabe. His father could live without being responsible for being the father of the demigod destined to potentially doom Olympus. Khione, if she was honest after all… she would be alone again, without a friend in the world. He brought the snowflake out one last time, holding it close to him. Shedding what tears he still could, he spoke what he thought would be his last words.

"Khione… I'm sorry…"

* * *

Khione was lounging in her palace, bored as usual. Her father was out in the Southern Hemisphere, Cal fixated on a hockey match and Zethes… well… he was doing something somewhere.

Suddenly, she felt a tug on her chest – Percy's talisman! He hadn't forgotten her after all! Flashing to his location, what she saw nearly broke her heart in half. There, right in front of her, was her only living friend, pit scorpion venom slowly creeping up his arm. She rushed to his side, finding him unconscious but still alive. She had to do something – but what? In desperation, she took his forearm and froze it, hoping that it would stop the worst of the venom reaching further.

Percy was her only friend, and she would stop at nothing to keep him safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** This is quite a filler-y chapter, as I'm experimenting with more casual dialogue. I always thought that there wasn't much of a reaction from the Hermes Cabin to Luke's betrayal, plus the disappearance of the campers seemed somewhat unexplained, so I've added quite a lengthy section with Travis here.

When Percy came to, he found himself in the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood. His saviour was nowhere to be seen, however. He shot up, although soon fell back down – obviously, he had not recovered enough to stand up. He fumbled in his pocket for the snowflake, but it was gone.

 _No way of getting it back now. It must have dropped on the way out, and_ _Gods_ _know how long I've been out and whether it's still there_.

He sank into the bed, stretching his arms out, but his left arm smacked a bedside table.

 _Good job, Percy. You just got stung by a scorpion, now you broke it, too._

However, he heard what seemed like paper when his hand made contact. Looking towards the source, he found a note. He opened it as gingerly as he could given his sluggish state, and read through the message.

 _Hey Percy,_

 _I'm sorry I couldn't hang around, but summertime down here isn't great for me – camp enchantments keep snow and rain out, so I'm not able to stay for longer than an hour in summer._

 _I was scared that you had forgotten about me, but the time in late spring when you picked up the talisman and you calling for me earlier proved me wrong. I know that you should owe me for saving your life, but I feel like I owe you an explanation._

 _If you had decided to look into my name, you would have found that Khione was either a nymph or minor goddess of snow. Well, I've lived for almost 3000 years now and can teleport, so I think you can guess who I am._

 _You're probably angry at me for not telling you sooner. I worked out you were a demigod early on, but I felt it wouldn't have been right to put you in danger when you weren't prepared. I talked to Chiron about what happened since, and it would have been better if I had told you then. You could have been ready for the Furies, for the Minotaur, for all this. I'm so sorry._

 _If you can still bear to see me, meet me in the Big House at 5 on Tuesday._

– _Khione_

* * *

By Monday morning, Percy had recovered enough to stand, and was walking effortlessly by the evening. Even so, training on Tuesday went sloppily. Both the hit from Luke's betrayal and anxiety before his meeting with Khione kept him from focussing. Still, he managed to win 6 of 10 duels. Considering that he got the same result when Luke was in charge, he realised something was wrong. He checked the clock at the end of the arena – 4:30. Taking a quick shower, he made his way to the Big House, where the one of the Stoll brothers was filling in at the camp shop, likely looking to make a little extra cash.

"Hey, Connor!" he shouted.

" _It's Travis!_ " He turned around, irritated, but his expression changed immediately when he saw who his customer was.

"Oh! Percy! Looks like you've made a reputation for yourself. Heard you beat Ares! Good job, kid!"

Percy couldn't help but break out in a grin. Word had spread that fast, had had it? His face fell when he remembered what he came for.

"Travis, I assume you and Connor are counsellors now that Luke went AWOL."

"Why do you ask?" His expression turned serious, too.

"I left on the quest. Have any campers, claimed or otherwise, left since then?"

"Two unclaimed, one Hermes and one known minor." Percy had never heard "minor" used before. He was immediately curious.

"Minor?"

"It's not just the Olympians who have kids, you know. For all we know, there could be just as many kids from minor Gods as from Olympians, just because there are so many minor Gods that it makes up for people not knowing about them. Thing is, the satyrs and nymphs prioritise the Olympian kids, plus not a lot of claimed minor Gods' kids stay in the Hermes cabin for long. They basically just leave, and we can't do anything because there isn't a cabin for them."

"Who left, though?" Travis looked out the window.

"Besides Luke, we lost Chris Rodriguez. Chris should have taken over after Luke left – he was the next oldest. Ethan Nakamura, the kid with the eyepatch, he left too." Travis swallowed and turned back to Percy. "He was a son of Nemesis, goddess of revenge." Percy understood his meaning.

"And that means that someone had wronged him –"

"– or he feels that the Gods overall betrayed us." Percy was stunned.

" _What_?" Travis sighed, somewhat exasperatedly.

"Percy, you of all people should know the Gods aren't perfect. Zeus framed you for Luke's crime, for the Gods' sake! The problem is, the Gods forget about their kids, or don't care enough to remember. The minor Gods want to have children too, but they're treated unfairly. We can't do anything about that, Percy. You're lucky to have met your dad in private. I only got to meet mine once, and that was during the field trip to Olympus. Thing is, they're family. Even if I only met my dad once, I know that somewhere in him, he does care. Whatever Luke's planning, I don't think it'll work out. I know that maybe it's wishful thinking to make the Gods change, but at least we can try to do it. A civil war's not going to fix our problems."

"That's the longest thing I think you have ever said." The two couldn't help but laugh, albeit uncomfortably.

"I know. I wish it wasn't like this. I have a hunch that Luke's working with someone else, someone who might actually stand up to the Gods. Luke's not stupid – in fact, he's probably the most cunning out of any of us. Wonder why you never noticed? That's how good he was. Now, he's going to use our trust against us. He was basically head of the camp. He had that Hermes charm, he spent years getting tough on the run, then built a reputation for himself as the best damn swordsman in the world. There are plenty of kids who stayed in Cabin 11 because of Luke, not because of camp or the Gods."

"Who do you think might leave?"

"For the most part, minor gods' kids and unclaimed. If Luke's clearly on the winning side, I expect only Olympian kids left. Even so, there's definitely a couple of Olympian kids on Luke's team. I can't tell exactly who, though. Silena was crushing on him once, which is pretty creepy considering she's 14 and he's 19, but Aphrodite kids are just weird in general, so…" both he and Percy shifted uncomfortably.

"Anyway, I think there might be another one. Maybe it's an Apollo, maybe an Athena. I know it's kind of out there, but it could be Annabeth." Although Annabeth had been cold when he arrived, she didn't seem like someone who'd betray the Gods just because a friend did.

"You can't be serious!" Travis recoiled a bit.

"Yes, yes, I know it's probably not going to happen, but hear me out. Annabeth came when she was 7 and Luke was 14. He was her big brother figure. She may not sympathise with his cause, but she sympathises with _him,_ and he could use that against us." Percy just looked at him, incredulously.

"I wouldn't worry too much, though. She's more likely to convince him to turn back than get convinced to join him." Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The magic seemed to have dissipated, leaving an uncomfortable sense of looming danger.

"Thanks, Travis."

Percy stepped out onto the porch. In just 2 weeks, camp had gone from a refuge to just another danger zone. He would be going back to his mother soon, and not be back until summer. The fate of world might rest on his shoulders, but he'd only have 3 summers to prepare. _Now I know what "the Fates are cruel" really means._

He had little time to ponder, however, because Khione appeared on the porch next to him.

"Looks like you came after all." Percy looked up at her. He had expected her to be sad, but she wore one of the warmest smiles he had seen.

"Why did you think I wouldn't?"

"It's kind of weird. I just blame myself for stuff a lot. Comes with getting ignored for a while, I guess."

"What do you mean by that?" Khione looked away wistfully.

"Basically, nobody actually cares what happens to me. As far as they're concerned, I'm a nuisance at best and a mass murderer at worst. 400 thousand of Napoleon's men dying in Russia? That's my fault. Countless deaths from famine during the Little Ice Age? My fault. It's my fault for everything bad that happens in winter, my fault for everything…"

Khione was sobbing uncontrollably now, and the wind began to pick up around her.

Percy scooted closer. He didn't know what to say. To some extent, it _was_ her fault because without her, snow wouldn't exist… or would it? No – that's not the point. She's hurting and you have to do something.

"It's okay, Khione. I'm here."

All of a sudden, Khione turned around. He expected her to do something rash, but not in the way she did. She wrapped her arms around him and held as tightly as she could.

He didn't know how long she stayed like that, but he did know that when he came to, she had left, the sun had long set, and the harpies were on the prowl.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Apologies for the lack of updates – my laptop broke down before exam season, so I had nothing to write with during what would have been extra writing time, plus other things got in the way post-exams. Now, however, it's all over, so more frequent updates should (bar minor writer's block) be coming until school restarts in September.**

* * *

The next day, Khione stopped by Percy's cabin. He wasn't in, so she slipped a note in with her palace's address, telling him he could contact her at any time.

The two had the odd conversation over the weeks, but never about anything important. However, their last chat at camp, made the day before the last, was quite different from the rest.

Unusually, Khione made the call instead of Percy, but had no signs of distress. She reclined on a furry sofa, looking upwards at her ceiling, while Percy lay on his bunk, staring at his.

"How's camp?" asked Khione, "any more worshippers?" Percy chuckled lightly.

"Nah, it's blown over by now. Honestly, I think everyone's just realised that, since I'm the child of the prophecy, something major is going to happen in three years. All of us have three years to prepare for who knows what. I'm only just thirteen, and a lot of our youngest kids are barely eleven. There's going to be entirely new kids coming – eleven year olds versus the unknown." Percy turned to Khione, his head trembling.

"I… I'm scared."

Khione turned towards Percy as well.

"You have every right to be," she began, but hesitated for a moment. She looked away for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before looking Percy dead in the eyes.

"In all likelihood, someone is gathering an army against Olympus." Percy almost recoiled in shock. Khione was calmer, but her lower lip trembled – clearly, she had revealed too much. Still, having crossed the point of no return, she continued.

"Look – I know the prophecy is purposefully vague and that it basically only involves a couple of people, but there's no way just one person, even an especially powerful god, could even think of taking over Olympus alone. Luke had to have got the winged shoes from somewhere – from what I've heard, he had no contact with his dad besides the field trip last year. Plus, you can't get pit scorpions from anywhere except the Underworld and Tartarus. You need to actually capture one to summon it, and there's no way he violated Hades' domain or tried to get into the pit by himself."

"Who would be supporting him, though?"

"It could be the Titans – after all, they have access to creatures from Tartarus, and although they can't leave, they could still use disillusioned demigods as proxies and agents." Percy nodded, but was still a bit sceptical.

"But it's not like a group of demigods could just waltz into Tartarus and release the titans, or even take over Olympus alone. A god could just use their divine form and vaporise them all. Who could be helping them besides those?" Khione's eyes glazed over, looking right through Percy. Snapping out of her brief trance, she sighed and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Us." Percy looked quizzical.

"In what way?"

"Minor gods," said Khione, briskly but firmly, "other than the Olympians. Apart from a lucky few of us, we've almost all been ignored for the most part. Our children (not that I've had any) are stuck, unclaimed, in the Hermes cabin, we have no representation, we're just there. While we don't have much raw power individually, there are so many of us that whoever's side we're on has a huge set of powers to draw from. If whoever's looking to take over is promising recognition, most of us would jump at the chance."

"Would you?"

Khione was silent for a minute, staring at a fixed point on the floor. She turned back, looking somewhat meek.

"No. I can't betray Olympus, even though I'm unknown or hated to everyone." The beginnings of tears had formed at the corners of her eyes. "I can't betray my dad, even if he's never let go of me. Most importantly, I can't betray you, Percy. You're my only friend. You came up to me when I was at my most alone. I can't do something like go against everything you have. I just can't…" By this point, the tears were running down her face. Percy tried to reach out, but his hand poked through the rainbow frame of the Iris Message. Despite her crying, Khione couldn't help but laugh.

"You're a great friend, Percy," she said, smiling softly at him, "just remember that I'll always be on your side."

At that moment, the message timed out, leaving a fading rainbow behind.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Bit of a short one here, but I wanted to make up for a lack of updates over June.**

* * *

Although camp was over as far as the summer campers were concerned, school was still four weeks away. Percy returned home to find Gabe gone, and a suspiciously lifelike sculpture in his place. By the end of summer, it had been sold to a gallery, and Percy and his mother had enough money to move into a better apartment, far from Gabe's old associates. With a new apartment came a new school (having been expelled by Yancy), called Meriwether College Prep. It took itself far from seriously, although it still made some attempt to teach. It was generally quite enjoyable, and he was free from demigod woes. For a while, anyway.

The ultimate threat may still have been three years away, but the severity of the situation had started to become a weight on his shoulders. Although his mother had insisted that he stop training with weapons at home after a mishap with a glass table, Percy still trained, except in his bedroom, far from any fragile objects. Without any actual opponents, he had to operate based on medieval fencing manuals and his own memory and lessons with Luke. By seeing Luke instead of an immobile target, Percy was able to hone his technique to counter Luke's perfectly – at least, as much as he could based on the duels they had.

With a very limited supply of drachmas, Percy had to limit his Iris Messages with Khione to once a month from September to November. The air of uncertainty from their last conversation in August had passed, turning to light mundanity and only the occasional reference to godly affairs.

Winter came sooner than usual that year, the first snowfall arriving the same day as December did. With it came Khione. Instead of the gloomy twenty year old from the year before, this time she came as a fourteen year-old, dressed in light, soft clothes rather than the plan blue coat from before, and sporting a distinct fur hat and fur lined boots. Her cold demeanour from before was long gone, instead replaced with a cheery disposition. She and Percy met up every day that winter, training, touring the city, and sometimes just talking.

* * *

Winter may simply have gone by, but spring was a different matter. Suspicious characters began wandering in the vicinity of school, seemingly searching for something, or more likely someone. It seemed the search was narrowing down, as every week, there was one block fewer that was visited, before, in the second week of April, a familiar face appeared at the gates.

There was no mistaking the pale, blond-haired eighteen year-old for anyone than Percy's old mentor, Luke. Beside him was a single _dracaena_ , probing the air around her with her forked tongue, seeking out her half-blooded prey. Fearful for his life, Percy faked illness and hid in the toilets, desperately hoping the stench would mask his own demigod scent.

Down the corridor, what Percy could only assume were Luke's footsteps rang out. It sounded as though he could walk forever, and with every step, Percy's heart beat a little bit faster, until Luke stopped – right next to the bathroom door. Percy drew Riptide from his pocket and swiftly uncapped it, thankful that the blade sprang forth silently. He stood up and braced himself in front of the door, sword poised to block a potential strike. He could hear the handle turn, the door hinges creak, and saw… nothing. Luke had opened the door opposite, which was to a classroom.

"Ethan Nakamura?" he called.


	8. Chapter 8

Ethan Nakamura… Percy had heard that name before. Of course! He was Nemesis' son – the one who escaped! He knew Ethan was familiar, but the connection was never made. No matter – it was too late to do anything now. He could only hide with his ear against the door, hoping to catch as much as he could of the conversation. He could hear Ethan walk out to the door, closing it behind him. He had hoped that Luke would talk with Ethan right where they were, but he had no such luck. Luke was no idiot – of course he wouldn't broadcast the whole "gods are real" message in broad daylight. Percy waited for the footsteps to disappear, before opening the door and peeking outside.

In the hallway was the _dracaena,_ a short sword resting in a scabbard on her belt. Her sense of hearing must have been quite weak, as she did not appear to hear the sound of the door creaking open behind her. Her sense of smell, however, was much more sensitive, as within less than a second of poking her tongue out, she turned in Percy's direction and drew her sword, poised to strike.

Percy slammed the door behind him and shoved a wedge in the bottom, then started backing up to buy time for a plan. He could hear a " _smack_ " as his shoe stepped right into a puddle of what he could only hope was water. _Water._ With so much plumbing in the room, he had a clear advantage. The _dracaena_ was struggling against the door at this point, and Percy quickly opened a tap, hoping to get as much water in the room as possible, but to his horror, none came. There had been a cut. _Damn it, damn it, damn it,_ he thought, as the _dracaena_ shoved the wedge out with her sword and threw the door open. Petrified, he found his legs unable to move no matter how much he wanted. There he was, frozen in place as a snake-woman brandishing a sword threatened to pounce upon him at any moment.

Percy was soon broken from his trance, but not by the _dracaena_ – rather, by high-pitched ring of the fire alarm. For whatever reason, the alarm had gone off, and set off the sprinklers to boot. Motion quickly returned to his legs, and he launched himself at the _dracaena,_ distracted by the sudden noise, hoping to finish her off quickly to avoid accidentally being spotted. He had no such luck, unfortunately, as the monster recovered quickly enough to parry his first strike. With his temporarily enhanced reflexes, however, he was able to cut off half a leg, then quickly stab it through the forehead, causing it to disintegrate into golden dust and get washed away by the water spreading across the floor.

Rushing to a window, he looked out into the car park to see Luke open the door of a van to Ethan, who, seemingly of his own volition, stepped inside. Luke got in the driver's seat without looking back, and sped away, leaving a plume of exhaust smoke in his wake.

Cursing inwardly, Percy sped off to the assembly point, and watched as the fire brigade swept the building for the nonexistent blaze. The principal, deciding that the damp environment would have "some negative effects on the learning mojo", dismissed the students and suspended school for another day in order to let it dry out. Back at home, he pulled out a glass prism and _drachma_ and made an urgent Iris Message.

"Chiron, Camp Half Blood". The image of the wheelchair-bound trainer, along with Annabeth and Dionysus, shimmered into view.

"Chiron!" Percy shouted, grabbing the attention of the three on the other side.

"What is it, my boy?" Inquired Chiron, concerned but calm.

"Luke showed up at school today –" Annabeth shot up, worry evident in her eyes.

"What did he do?"

"He came to the school and either kidnapped or recruited a kid called Ethan Nakamura," Percy said, causing Chiron to widen his eyes in shock. Dionysus, however, was more dismissive.

"Who is this Edwin Nathaniel kid anyway? Another half-blood?" Chiron looked at him incredulously.

"You don't understand how severe this is!" he replied with uncharacteristic shock and even mild anger, "If Luke is hiring demigods from the mortal world, whoever he is working for could become a serious threat to Olympus! Divine law forbids the gods from intervening directly unless provoked, so if the loyal demigods are outnumbered, then the gods become powerless to stop the coming threat! And another –" Annabeth piped up again.

"Were you spotted?"

"Not by Luke, but by a _dracaena_ that went with him who sniffed out Ethan. Luke and Ethan left without her before any of them knew I was there, though, so neither of them saw me kill it." Chiron, although still a bit red in the face from his earlier outburst, leaned back into his chair, slowly stroking his beard.

"Percy, this is a dangerous situation. If Luke was expecting the _dracaena_ to follow him on its own, he'll assume it was attacked by an armed demigod and thus send someone, or worse go back himself, to finish the job."

"So what should I do?" Chiron finished stroking his beard and looked towards Percy with an air of decisiveness.

"Get your mother here. You have until Friday to work out an alibi and gather what you need. Today's Monday, so that gives you four days. Stay at school as little as possible while keeping up attendance. Annabeth will meet you and take you to camp." He looked towards Annabeth, who nodded first at Chiron and then at Percy.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Chiron gave a final stroke of his beard and looked up at Percy.

"If Luke brought a _dracaena_ that he was working with, then he's in cahoots with some monstrous forces of some sort, so he could send anything your way. I assume you were able to deal with the _dracaena_ he brought by surprise, but if you're confronted head-on, just two of them could defeat you with your current level of training. Try to avoid confrontation if you can."

Percy nearly scoffed at the suggestion that he was incapable of taking on more than 1 _dracaena_ at once, having once taken care of the Minotaur without any training at all, but decided to remain silent. He nodded and sliced through the message. Hopefully, that would be the last trouble he'd have outside camp for a while.

* * *

That appeared to have been the case, as Percy checked his locker one last time on Friday before his PE lesson, the last of the day. Unfortunately, he happened to turn a corner right into Matt Sloan. Sloan was yet another petty bully, but he had brought with him some new help. Three towering, brutish semi-giants stood behind him, looking pointedly in his direction. Percy couldn't help but notice that soon after his presence was made known, their nostrils flared and they seemed to be staring with not irritation but a strange, primal hunger. He suppressed a fearful gulp and went around, not taking his eyes off the new students until halfway down the corridor.

However, Percy forgot one essential thing – Sloan was in his class, and so the new guys would be, too. Coming out of the changing rooms behind him were the strange new kids. He could see their names on tags – "Jim Bob", "Marrow Sucker" and "Skull Eater". These guys were either complete idiots, easily amused or actually dangerous. All things considered, he was inclined to believe the latter.

After a standard warm-up of running laps, the elderly and half-deaf coach ordered his class to play dodgeball. Without separating them into teams, designating sides or even acknowledging them starting, the coach pulled out a magazine and assumed that the students would just get on with it. Sloan and his new cronies took one side, and Percy had the impression that he would end up on the other whatever he did. A couple of the kids started passing balls around. The new guys picked up one each, twirling them in their hands. Whatever they were doing here, they were going to do it well.

The coach blew his whistle without even looking up. For the first half second, all was well.

Then the new guys' dodgeballs caught fire.


	9. Chapter 9

Time seemed to grind to a halt as the new students prepared to launch their deadly salvo, slowly morphing into monstrous, hulking creatures, bulging with muscles and with veins criss-crossing their skin. The burning dodgeballs had morphed into metallic spheres, still aflame and glowing with strange energy. Percy tried backing towards the changing room door, but the flow of time suddenly re-asserted itself as a flaming ball sailed through the air, colliding with the wall above the door. Upon impact, the ball exploded into flames, whilst the brickwork collapsed, burying the exit. The other students had by this point run to a different entrance, leaving Percy almost alone in the gym. The teacher, still engrossed in his magazine, had not noticed any of the commotion at all.

Percy cursed. His sword was still in pen form in his normal shorts, which were locked away in the changing room. The gym shorts he was wearing had no pockets, so no amount of enchantment could have given him the sword in that moment. With no other options, Percy tried to concentrate on the sprinkler pipes again. Although nobody would be here to pull the alarm this time, he could try to rupture the pipe somewhere and extinguish the flames. He was broken from his concentration, however, as a single sphere hurtled through the air towards him.

Frozen in place, he could only hold out his arms, crossed, in front of him – as if that would help. Rooted to the ground, Percy winced as the explosive charge that would likely end his life approached. He could feel the heat radiating off the ball as it was about to hit, the flames just licking his wrist, a solid mass coming into contact with his hand and… stopping. He opened his eyes to find the ball, extinguished, in his left hand. It was surprisingly light, seemingly hollow. He had no idea how he managed to do it, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. In desperation, he hurled it at one of the monsters – "Marrow Sucker" if he remembered correctly – and happened to hit the creature's next shot before it was thrown, causing both to detonate in its hand and a cloud of golden dust to spread out across the room before being blown away to Tartarus.

Enraged, "Skull Eater" discarded his dodgeball and threw himself at Percy instead, charging straight towards him. Percy, however, stepped to the side, causing the monster to run headfirst into the wall. With no time to lose, Percy picked up a brick knocked loose and bashed the monster over the head, turning it into dust as well.

Unfortunately, Percy now found himself between a rock and a hard place. "Jim Bob" was on the opposite side of the room, and, being somewhat more intelligent than his brethren, had stayed behind, brandishing a fresh new dodgeball. With piles of collapsed brickwork to either side, Percy had no way to run except forwards. What he could expect to do having done so, he had no idea. Steadying himself, he ran straight towards the beast, desperately hoping for some act of fate to save him. "Jim Bob" raised his arm to throw the ball, its surface bursting into flame as it primed to explode. Just as he was about to release it, he stopped. Looking at his own chest, he found the tip of a knife sticking through and his over-muscled flesh disintegrating around it. The flames on the ball extinguished as it fell from his hand, clattering to the ground. As "Jim Bob" melted away, Percy saw his saviour, Annabeth Chase, knife in one hand, invisibility cap in the other.

* * *

Travelling back to camp was eventful, to say the least. Annabeth had summoned the Grey Sisters, once the guides of Perseus, now taxi drivers for emergency situations. Although they had only one eye and one tooth between them, and bickered constantly over their ownership in the middle of driving, somehow they were capable of getting between two points intact. Percy hoped that would be the only time he had to be a patron to the Grey Sisters' service, as he stumbled dizzily out of the car. As soon as he and Annabeth had disembarked, the car sped off into the distance, dissipating into a cloud of smoke.

They had arrived at the foot of Half-Blood Hill, at the crest of which stood a single pine tree – Thalia's Pine. Last year, it had been a perfectly healthy pine tree. When he got to the top of the hill, however, Percy noticed that the needles were wilting somewhat. _Probably just the leaves changing,_ he thought. He made his way down the hill again, and turned to say something to Annabeth, but she wasn't there. She was still on top, rooted to the ground with her mouth agape as she looked up at the tree. Without a word, she ran in the direction of the Big House, Percy trailing behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

"Chiron! Chiron!" screamed Annabeth, as she bounded towards the Big House. The centaur in question turned calmly in her direction, unperturbed by the distress in her voice.

"Calm down, child. Why are you so distressed?" he asked. Annabeth was panting, but tried to speak anyway.

"Thalia's– Thalia's tree – it's…" she had stopped stuttering from exertion, however. Now, she was starting to shake with sobs.

"It's dying, Chiron."

* * *

The old centaur came to the tree with the two campers and scoured the bark for what might have caused the tree to begin dying so suddenly. As he circled the pine, one of his hooves was caught on something, and he pulled it free, kicking free a severed piece of root.

That was unexpected, to say the least. The root should have been firmly attached. Stooping down to inspect the foot of the tree, he could clearly see where it had been cut free, and from the wound dripped a strange, watery substance, slightly green in colour. He soaked some with a tissue and held it to his nose.

"Poison," he said matter-of-factly, "but an uncommon one. If someone were trying to destroy the tree outright they would have used something more potent. This seems like it was supposed to have an effect beyond simply killing the tree." He stroked his beard, deep in thought.

"Regardless, this is a grave situation indeed. Without the tree, the barriers protecting the camp will dissipate, and with the old defences long gone, camp will cease to be a safe haven." He turned to Percy and Annabeth.

"It may be time to issue a quest."

Percy had to admit that he was unfamiliar with the Big House's interior. He had been in the attic and most of the ground floor, but what greeted him on the second floor was simply stunning. The Oracle's attic lair was laden with haphazardly-placed spoils, but the second floor was more like a museum or art gallery, the walls a contiguous mosaic depicting the deeds of great heroes, such as Hercules slaying the Hydra and Oedipus outsmarting the Sphinx, painted in vibrant colours that seemed to change as though animated. Percy was sure he could see the lead on Bellerophon's spear dripping as it was melted by the Chimera's fiery breath. On evenly-spaced tables lay a vast array of carefully-placed spoils, artefacts and enchanted items, some of which Percy recognised, and some of which were completely alien to him. There was the sword Hermes and Athena gave Perseus, said to be so sharp it could cut iron as though it were paper, and the necklace belonging to the Theban queens, allegedly granting youth and beauty for the price of extreme vanity and paranoia. Some tables, however, had distinct empty spaces. Chiron sat in his wheelchair, looking over one in particular, marked "the Golden Fleece".

"If found, the Fleece could be used in place of Thalia's tree to maintain the border, but naturally, that does not cure the tree, and as far as we know, Thalia is still alive, just suspended inside. Thus, we need to find a way to heal it. Should we find a way to treat the tree, it is possible by that point that Thalia's spirit will already have been weakened too much. We do not have enough time to do both. Thus, we have reached an impasse. We either repair our border but at the cost of a life, or save the life but lose the border." Annabeth was horrified.

"There has to be another way!" Chiron gave her a knowing smirk.

"Fortunately for us, Ares' demands that his daughter have a quest have been answered. By a stroke of luck, Clarisse just so happens to be seeking the Fleece, which means the two of you can devote all your energies to finding a cure."

Annabeth, who had just before been crushed by the news her sister-figure was dying, now had a look of hope in her eyes.

"What can we do?" Chiron stroked his beard again.

"One option is to seek out the goddess Hecate. She could have an antidote. Unfortunately, many of the minor deities are going rogue, and she may even have created the poison in the first place." Percy piped up.

"Couldn't we get Apollo or Demeter to just straight-up heal the tree? I mean, couldn't we–"

"–no," said Chiron, cutting him off, "the Gods are barred from interference. Gods may only assist in a quest. They may not perform the actual labours necessary. Do you remember when Paris killed Achilles? Although assisted by Apollo, it was he who pulled the bowstring. No, we must–" Chiron hesitated for a moment and turned to Percy. "You suggested Demeter?"

"Well, yeah. I know her domain's mostly crops, but she probably knows how to fix a tree, too." Chiron smiled at Percy like a proud parent, and almost laughed with delight.

"You do have your strokes of genius, my boy! Although Lady Demeter herself may not intervene, I have just the idea for who might – her cult." Percy looked completely incredulous.

"Her cult!?" Chiron stared at Percy with a look of mock horror at his ignorance.

"Yes, Perseus. All throughout Greece and Rome, groups of particularly pious people formed or joined secret mystery cults dedicated to a particular deity. The Roman legions were filled with devotees to the god Mithras, for example. Now, in Attica, a cult formed in Eleusis, dedicated to Demeter. Although many of these cults have mostly died out, Demeter's appears to still be in existence, as it was formed by an immortal, a man named Eumolpus. Your half-brother, in fact." Percy raised an eyebrow in jest.

"So you want us to find a cult headed by my immortal half-brother that may or may not have a cure to the poison, except nobody knows where it is?" Chiron nodded. Percy smirked.

"Sounds like a plan."


	11. Chapter 11

Percy and Annabeth sat across from each other in a room in the Big House set aside for their search. Behind Annabeth was a wall-sized cork board with a plethora of documents and images pinned to it, connections between them marked out with coloured thread strung between the pins, making the wall look like an unraveled sweater had been dumped on an exploded scrapbook. Annabeth admitted that by that stage, even she had lost track of what she was doing. In front of Percy, however, was simply a map of the United States, with no markings beyond those printed by the manufacturer.

Having failed to make any progress cross-referencing old records, Annabeth came up with an alternative idea, relying on geography instead. If the East Coast was an analogue to Greece, and Mount Olympus was in New York, then the equivalent of Athens would be to the south – Washington D.C. The equivalent of Eleusis, where the cult would be based, would be nearby, in Maryland or possibly even Virginia. The hunt for clues could be made from there.

Although this was far from a perfect plan, fortunately for the two, they had until the end of July – three whole months – to carry out their search. Chiron came in to review their progress, but was stunned speechless by Annabeth's evidence web. Raising his eyebrows curiously, he made an awkward nod before wheeling back out again. Percy suppressed a round of hysterical laughter, but Annabeth was almost dozing off.

"I heard somewhere you could visit every apartment in New York City in just a couple months if you walk 8 hours a day," said Percy, "but I don't think we could cover two whole states in that time." Annabeth only yawned in response, but was actually listening as intently as she could.

"Do you think your dad might be able to help? You went to live with him again in Virginia, right?" Annabeth shot up irritably.

"Not anymore." Her tone was clipped and resentful. "He got a new job in _San Francisco_." She spoke the name as though she threatened to spit on the floor at every mention of it. Percy, however, just chortled.

"What's so bad about San Francisco?" Annabeth just gazed at him, astounded.

" _What's so bad about San Francisco?_ " She was almost fuming by this point. _How the Hades does he not know?_ "San Francisco, and in fact all of California, is where the residual energy from the fall of the Titans is. Almost every monster that reforms in Tartarus emerges in California, which means it's also where most of the minor monsters gather. The entrance to the Underworld, the Garden of the Hesperides, and Atlas' mountain are all there. Staying would be suicide. So, I ran away again."

Percy couldn't decide whether he was more disappointed that Annabeth had run away again, or that it seemed everything was conspiring to keep her at camp. He decided to change the subject, wary of bringing up anything serious again.

"Look. We have plenty of time. Let's work out some options and meet up again later." Annabeth nodded, and Percy left with a sad smile in her direction. Annabeth, however, did not leave. She took to her notes once more, in this case a family tree. **_Eumolpus_** was clearly highlighted, as was his father, **_Poseidon_** , but the name of the cult leader's mother was faded and in minuscule writing. Annabeth could only barely decipher it, but as soon she did, the gears in her head, once worn down by the fruitless search for Eumolpus, turned again with vigour, this time in search of a new target.


	12. Chapter 12

In a creaking farmhouse just outside Richmond lived an old man. His body appeared little older than seventy, but his eyes betrayed a life far longer. Not that many people had come close enough to tell – especially in the past couple of centuries. This man had met what may have been a hundred thousand people, revealed to them some of the most sacred and secretive rituals of the classical world, and, with the exception of the perhaps fifty remaining devotees, he had seen all of them pass away. He, however, had no such respite. He was, as it were, immortal. His parentage could possibly have made him a god, but he had never checked to find out. Perhaps that was why nobody had come after him to chastise him about the Ancient Laws, or recall him from the mortal world after the lowering of the Mist upon the eyes of man. After all, if demigods' scent become amplified when they become made aware of their half-blood status, could not an unaware god be less conspicuous as well? He considered himself lucky that he never managed to become injured in all the years of his existence. Many times he had contemplated putting a knife to his skin to find out, but something kept him from doing so. Often he asked if it was fear. Was he afraid that if he bled red, then the awareness of his own mortality would cause said mortality to assert itself? How exactly he had managed, in three thousand years, not to find out astounded even himself. Straightening himself up after his daily breakfast, he took another look at the bronze knife he kept above the mantlepiece. His hand twitched ever so slightly, almost about to grab it, but it remained by his side, something he had learned to do by rote after three thousand years of delaying. Another day would not make the difference. Eumolpus turned without a second thought, and opened the door to the outside world. The Mysteries were soon to begin.

–––––––––––––––

Nearly four hundred miles away, two demigods were preparing to find him. With their journey not really being a quest, no prophecy was given, although Chiron insisted that they bring a third person along for security. Considering that they were about to seek out Demeter's cult, they picked none other than Demeter's daughter, Katie Gardner.

Katie, at just fourteen, was nonetheless the second-youngest of Demeter's daughters at camp. Unlike the promiscuous Aphrodite, Demeter had relatively few children, with her attention focussed so heavily on Persephone for nine months a year, and on the lack of Persephone for much of the other three. You would think that she would have grown used to it after thousands of years in that arrangement, but the gods are static creatures.

Katie was particularly eager to join, as, like many other half-bloods, she rarely had a chance to meet her godly parent, save for the camp's visit to Olympus two years ago, and, even if her mother didn't show up in person, she would at least come a bit closer.

Being a summer rather than a full-year camper meant that Katie was less than familiar with her teammates, and so the journey off Long Island was one full of introductions and small talk. Born to a successful farmer in Minnesota, she joined camp after nearly being ambushed by a dracaena. Although he was clear-sighted and had discovered a stash of celestial bronze with which to make shotgun rounds, he was well aware that his daughter had to be able to protect herself without him around. Since then, Katie had thrown herself into camp training, trying to be the best she could be. Whilst living in a rural area meant having fewer monsters nearby, it also meant that there was nowhere to safely run or hide from them. So, Katie had focussed on her swordsmanship. While a practice spar with Percy had ended in a defeat, she had fought quite well, especially against someone who had held his own against Ares with barely a month or so of training behind him. However, she had a trick up her sleeve.

Well, her backpack, really. Inside was a partially disassembled Mossberg shotgun with around forty cartridges loaded with bronze slugs. Percy and Annabeth were understandably stunned. Katie having the gun was probably illegal, which meant that if searched, their mission would end right then and there. As it turns out, Katie had another secret. She had been practicing Mist manipulation at home during the year, to the point where even mortal items could be disguised, at least to the weak-willed or disinterested.

What Katie forgot, rather ironically for a child of the goddess of the harvest, was provisions. The trio had planned for three weeks' food, plus the standard thermos of nectar and bag of ambrosia cubes. Now, they were short one week for food, had no ambrosia, and had only twenty gold drachmas between them. In exchange, they earned a liability that could only be used forty times. Before either Percy or Annabeth could respond, the van skidded to a halt outside Penn Station in New York, the end of the beginning for the first leg of their journey.

–––––––––––––––

Further north, one goddess found herself in a perplexing situation.

"Show me Perseus Jackson at Camp Half-Blood."

Refusing to comply, the rainbow in front of her spat her coin back out, shimmering like static on an old television screen.

" _The recipient could not be found at the address. Please call again later,_ " was the automated response.

Khione was already "calling again later" – for the second time. She had "called again later" two hours ago, after being told to "call again later" the first time, four hours ago. By now, it was already ten in the evening. Percy had to be in his cabin by that point. Sighing, she threw the drachma away, a light _thud_ sounding as it hit the hard wooden floor of her cabin. Drained thanks to the heat of summer, she fell asleep as soon as her eyelids shut.

–––––––––––––––

An hour before, at Penn Station, Percy and Katie started to head for the platform for the next train to Richmond, but Annabeth dragged them away immediately, pointing to the northbound platform.

"Count yourselves lucky that I packed your passports for you, 'cause we're not heading south just yet. I've found a lead that takes us across the border. We're heading to Montreal."


	13. Chapter 13

There is a time and a place for revealing a change of plan. Most consider the point at which the change applies to be a bit late in the day. Still, neither Percy nor Katie were prepared to argue with Annabeth. When she had a plan, she insisted that it be followed through. Because they hadn't arrived at Penn until three, they would have to spend a night in Albany before heading off to Montreal.

The trio were lucky enough to be seated at a table, which Annabeth used to lay out her notes, which were liberally pointed at as she spoke. Katie tried to listen in on the ramblings, but Percy didn't even bother pretending, instead staring out the window as the train passed into upstate New York. He would soon be greeted with a swift kick to the shin, breaking him from his trance.

"You were the one who asked why we're going to Canada," noted a less than pleased daughter of Athena, "so I expect you to pay just a little bit more attention when I'm answering your question."

"I would," he bit back, "if you could give me an answer that doesn't take three hours to finish!"

"Well, Katie listened!" The girl in question sprang into action, having managed to zone out as well. Annabeth scowled, groaning frustratedly as she buried her head in her hands, her teammates sharing a slightly guilty glance. After a few seconds of deliberation, she glared briefly at each of her two teammates before leaning back into her chai, letting a deep breath out through her nose.

"Because we won't have any luck sweeping all of Virginia without knowing what clues to look out for, I've decided that it would be better to find people related to members of the cult. The Ancient Laws would seem to stop Demeter from just telling us where it is, so the best lead we have is Boreas."

"The North Wind," interjected Katie.

"Exactly. It's not that easy, given that it's summer, but Chiron tells me he bases himself in Montreal all year round, so we should be able to find a trail while we're there."

"I'm not sure about this. You're basically assuming that we'll just find a way to Boreas, and that Boreas will somehow know about the cult." said Percy.

"Well, with regards to your second point, Boreas is Eumolpus' grandfather. As for how we'll find him, I got my hands on this." replied Annabeth, holding up a trinket on a string. Made of silver with a mirror-like finish, with a diameter of about a thumb-width, water condensed on it as though it were ice cold. Yet, the most striking feature of this piece was its shape – that of a snowflake, immaculately crafted, with six main branches linked by delicate threads. The whole piece was about the thickness of a small coin, and looked immensely familiar to Percy. The connection was made almost immediately. He perked up immediately, and Annabeth gave him a knowing smirk.

"We found this in your hand after the scorpion attack last year. I heard that some girl dropped you off at the infirmary and ran off as soon as you got help."

"So that's where it went," mused Percy. He had actually assumed that Khione had taken it with her, or that he'd dropped it when he passed out. His thoughts suddenly returned to the mission at hand. "Actually, how does that even help?" Annabeth's smirk remained as she placed a thermometer against the piece.

"Well, it looks as though it's been getting colder the further north we've been going. It was just about freezing when we left, and it's about 25 Fahrenheit now. It's a bit of a hunch, I guess, but we should see it get even colder until we get to Boreas'."

Percy thought about mentioning Khione to them, but as he was about to start speaking, the train began to slow down on its approach to Albany. In a near panic, Annabeth began stuffing her notes back in her bag, barely finishing before the train doors opened. Soon, the three young heroes found lodging in a nearby motel, blissfully unaware of events just over a hundred miles away.

For you see, Thalia had begun to reawaken. She could feel nothing besides a dull, throbbing ache. She wasn't conscious of much else, or even very conscious at all. A short five minutes later, she slipped back into the darkness.

Darkness would be what Khione awoke to that night. Not being winter, there was no fire to light the room around her. Goddess of snow she may have been, but she had always had a thing for fires. She was not particularly fond of Hestia, although not out of genuine dislike, but rather unfamiliarity. Perhaps if her fireplace had been used, she might have been a little less alone that night. Still, it was too late – and far too hot – to matter anyway. She willed her eyes to close again, hoping for a better day tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14

Having settled into a motel for the night, Percy walked out onto the balcony, stretching his arms and legs one last time before heading to bed. He turned back to the room he was in, but in between him and the door was none other than the messenger god, Hermes.

'Lord Hermes,' he gasped, stunned both by the suddenness of the god's appearance and by the fact that he had appeared at all.

'Hello, Perseus,' said the god, chuckling lightly, 'or Percy, as I've heard you prefer.' He had a wistful look to him, betraying the more serious internal conflict underneath his facade of jollity.

It was then that Percy paid attention to Hermes' choice of attire that night. Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and long trousers, with a pair of sneakers and a baseball cap both decorated with wings, he looked like the Olympian version of a delivery man.

'I'm sure you're wondering why I paid a visit.' Percy nodded meekly, earning another chuckle from Hermes.

'Don't worry, it's not about Luke,' he said, his voice cracking subtly at the mention of his son's name, 'well, not all of it. It's about this _quest_.' The word was said with uncertainty. He paused for a moment, giving Percy a chance to speak.

'It isn't an actual quest, is it?' Hermes smiled understandingly.

'Not in the traditional sense. No prophecy, no real plan, just a hunch about a hunch to go off of. I thought you might need a push in the right direction.' He pulled out a piece of gold about half the size of a shot glass, moulded in the shape of a sheaf of wheat, and handed it to Percy. Weighing it in his hand, Percy found that it was clearly solid, but he also got the sense that it contained far more power than it appeared to.

'One of the sacred objects kept in the chests during the Mysteries. I found it in the original sanctuary after the cult was officially shut down by the Roman Christians. With the whole thing being shut down and all, it wasn't like it was technically Demeter's sacred ground anymore anyway.' Hermes' smile had since become a smirk.

'Does it do anything?' Percy asked. Hermes recoiled briefly in mock offence before breaking into soft laughter.

'I don't actually know! I just have a third hunch for you.' Wishing Percy luck with the expression on his face alone, Hermes took Percy's hand and shook it firmly. His face slowly fell again.

'I still care about Luke, you know?' Hermes felt like kicking himself for starting down that path of conversation, but it was too late anyway. 'He and Thalia were basically all the other had for months. If you can save her, it might just…' Percy stayed silent, unsure of what to say. He couldn't insult a son in front of his father, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Luke had betrayed the both of them, either. Hermes, though, had the last word.

'If you run into him at any point, just try. Please.' His once-mirthful eyes had become downcast, giving away just how aware he was that his son was lost to him. True to form, his usual expression returned, if more wistful than before, as he had one last message to convey.

'By the way, Iris tells me that someone's been trying to call you since you started the quest. I'd look into that if I were you.' Hermes' form began to shimmer as he prepared assume his divine form to teleport away. With a final suggestive wink, he vanished in a burst of golden light.

True to Hermes' word, someone was cursing herself for never actually giving Percy her address. She had come to the realisation that he had left camp after the twentieth call or so, meaning that she couldn't find him, either. Knowing Percy's rather slow way of figuring things out, he probably forgot to tell her or assumed that she would be able to find him anywhere. How wrong he was.

Khione had to admit that she had been increasingly dependent on Percy in a way, as the idiots she had for brothers, her control freak of a father and the forest animals around her little retreat were hardly good conversation. She thought about meeting up with a few other minor gods. Who, though? She couldn't think of any. She could try to find out, but that would mean getting out of bed.

Who might be out there?

Hestia? No – too warm for her tastes, figuratively and literally. Cheimon she usually got on with, but it had been at least ten years since they last spoke. She wondered how on earth she, the goddess of snow and daughter of the North Wind himself, had managed to avoid the spirit of winter for such a long time. In any case, it was summer, so it wasn't like she'd be around. Theros? No. The spirit of summer was hardly good company for someone of her focus. She rolled on her bed, facing the wall. She could probably think of someone.

Then again, she was immortal. It could wait another day.

Once built as a the epitome of mortal luxury, the _Princess Andromeda_ now found herself bearing a monstrous host the likes of which her designers could never had imagined. The ballroom that had been placed fore-and-centre, adorned with gilded sculptures and immaculate paintings, found itself in disarray after the arrival of the Titans' growing army. One elongated table lay right in the centre, with enough room for ten on either side, plus a single seat at each end, the only two to be occupied. In one sat a pale but reasonably-built young man, focussing on nothing except what was in the other, staring stoically into its single eye.

'So, _cyclops_ ,' he spat, as though the… _creature_ that sat before him deserved no name, 'where exactly is this "brother" of yours now?'


End file.
